The Washington PostCongress finally rewrote No Child Left Behind (eight years late) and delivered a new K-12 education law to the country called the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. The new law js intended to fix some of the most egregious problems with NCLB, and return significant education policy-making power to the states. But there are questions about exactly how much power the states have to change policy, including on accountability systems that have been pushed by the Obama administration for years.READ MORE

Disabilities ScoopAs the nation sees record-setting high school graduation rates, a new report finds that students with disabilities are struggling to keep up. Graduation rates for those with disabilities in 33 states were below 70 percent for the 2013-2014 school year. Worse yet, in seven of those states, the rate was less than 50 percent. The figures — which are based on federal education data — come from a GradNation report produced by Civic Enterprises and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Education.READ MORE

By: Pamela Hill Teachers of students with learning disabilities make multitudes of curricular and instruction decisions in any given day. Therefore, they must know the instructional methodology they are choosing is effective. Because special educators are always learning and improving their craft, reflection by journaling is an important piece of this decision-making process. When teachers were in preservice training, many were asked to reflect about their teaching practices by journaling.READ MORE

LDA responds to the crisis of the children in Flint, MI with high lead levels LDA shares the distress of parents and professionals across the country over the situation in Flint, Michigan. The damage that has been done, and will continue to be done, by the contaminated water supply of Flint, is of immediate concern. Please read the Letter to the Editor that was sent to newspapers across the country, including the Detroit Free Press, the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Flint Journal.READ MORE

Looking to share your expertise?
In an effort to enhance the overall content of THE LD SOURCE, we'd like to include peer-written articles in future editions. As a member of LDA and/or reader of THE LD SOURCE, your knowledge of learning disabilities and related issues lends itself to unprecedented expertise. And we're hoping you'll share this expertise with your peers through well-written commentary. Because of the digital format, there's no word or graphical limit. Our group of talented editors can help with final edits. If you're interested in participating, please contact Ronnie Richard to discuss logistics.

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Student-Paced, Mastery-Based MathSince 2004, Math-U-See has worked with intervention and special education teachers to reach struggling special needs math students. Math-U-See corresponds to math ability rather than traditional grade levels, so it can be used with students of any age. We provide tools and training for an explicit, structured, systematic, cumulative program using multi-sensory teaching techniques. MORE

Education WorldThe U.S. Department of Justice has released final regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act that focus on improving conditions, achievement for students with dyslexia and other learning disorders. "The new regulation guide and letter to school districts address problematic policies which have required students and their families to undergo repeated costly testing for documentation of dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia and other LDs," says DyslexicAdvantage.org.READ MORE

ADDitude MagazineYou've probably noticed that a child with attention deficit disorder can focus intently (also called "hyperfocusing") on certain activities — playing video games, for example. But when it comes to schoolwork, she has a hard time staying on task. Researchers recognize that ADHD doesn't impair the ability to pay attention, but rather the ability to control what one pays attention to.READ MORE

ADDitude MagazineAmy Rottmann, a contributor for ADDitude Magazine, writes: "I have just walked away from my child to take a deep breath and regain my patience. She is screaming as she lays her head on the table trying to complete her first-grade homework. Since my daughter has ADHD, learning disabilities, and a state test coming up, these meltdowns are common in our home. I come home from work, cook dinner and prepare myself for the battle."READ MORE

KQED (commentary)Kira Miller, a contributor for KQED, writes: "Writing is always a process. For some students, it's an even bigger struggle to know what steps in that process go in what order, or if they are relevant to the big picture at all. Knowing what to write is difficult, and often when given a topic that is not personally interesting, can lead to even bigger problems. In the world of my students, often times, this is the case. I've found the pre-writing strategies I discuss here are a good way to begin to overcome some of the inherent challenges students with special needs face."READ MORE

The AtlanticIt's a reality that's rattled the education world for years: Black and Latino students are far less likely than their white and Asian peers to be assigned to gifted-and-talented programs. The odds of getting assigned to such programs are 66 percent lower for black students and 47 percent lower for Latino students than they are for their white counterparts. Given the well-known racial disparities in academic test scores that generally determine enrollment in these programs, the gap may seem inevitable. READ MORE

eSchool NewsBreakthrough Technologies and the National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) have partnered to develop a new open-source assessment program for students with cognitive disabilities. The NCSC alternate assessment evaluates knowledge of Common Core Math and ELA (reading and writing) standards at grades 3-8 and 11. NCSC's goal is to ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve increasingly higher academic outcomes and leave high school ready for postsecondary options.READ MORE

Education WorldAccording to a study from Healthy Relationships California, the new education legislation the Every Student Succeeds Act offers a good opportunity for schools to see reduced bullying and violence in relationships thanks to the new guidelines. Early Intervention: The Impact of Relationship Education on Youth — the most recent [Relationship Education] RE study published by Healthy Relationships California — helps quantify the benefits of RE for adolescents across all of their relationships, including with friends, romantic partners, parents and siblings.READ MORE